REDEMPTION OF THE ALL-SPARK

My first attempt at a full-fledged "Transformers" story, with actual chapters. Hopefully, this will work out. (Got my fingers crossed, and essentially everything else I've got.)

As I'm still a bit of a Transformers rookie, it'd be really great if you cut me some slack, especially in your reviews. I know this isn't exactly like the series, but hey, this is why they call this "fan fiction", right? You can tweak a few things here and there in order to make your story work, right? I do try to keep the overall personalities of the characters the same, however.

Now, this takes place after the original series ends; you could say it continues where the last episode left off. Skipping the innumerable details, Megatron has escaped and rejoined his advocates, and for this, I brought back a few characters that were offline in the show. They are Transformers, after all, and as you Transformers devotees know, they're often known to cheat death. Being a robot does have its advantages, as well as disadvantages. My OC Melly will be in this story for sure; she'll play a very significant role, and naturally, that means Blurr will be in here, too. Yes, Blurr does come back. Contrary to what some people say, I say Blurr is alive (still had his Spark, didn't he?), and though it's never displayed on-screen, I firmly believe they find some way to help him.

Those people left a lot of loose ends when the show came to a close…too many, from the way I see it.

Story © unicorn-skydancer08

All rights reserved.

In his dark, gloomy chamber of his private lair, Megatron awaited the arrival of his subsidiaries. Due to the dimness of the room, the details of the evil Decepticon's face were mostly obscured—but his eyes, which were a malevolent red, blazed through the shadows like a pair of smoldering coals. Alongside him, Starscream stood by, looking every bit as imposing as his master, his blood-red eyes blazing just as brightly, with the same flame of malice. "Why not just use the human girl, my liege?" he asked Megatron, in his seedy voice. "She is our best link to our adversaries. Surely, we could persuade her to lend us a hand…or two." At that last bit, he wielded one of his ray cannons on his forearm, and waved it around emphatically.

Recalling Melly Manchester, the young human from Earth who sided with their sworn enemies, the Autobots, Megatron replied concisely, "That girl is stronger than we gave her credit for, Starscream. I underestimated that miserable little brat once; that is a mistake I am determined to never make again. We could never sway her, even with a thousand Decepticons, or every last weapon in our arsenal. She would rather die than betray those accursed Autobots." He shook his head, which was already hideous enough without his helmet, whose pointed edges gave off the impression of jagged teeth. "No. For this, we need someone with less backbone. We need someone who is much more pliant, more malleable, more…cooperative."

Right at that moment, heavy footsteps sounded, and Waspinator, Blitzwing, Lugnut, and Shockwave entered the vast chamber.

"Have you brought the victim?" Megatron inquired of them, the second his glaring optics centered on them.

"We have, Lord Megatron," rumbled Shockwave.

Then Blackarachnia, who was somewhere between a bot and a gargantuan spider, stepped forward.

She was hauling along a young human man in her metal pincers, who was somewhere in his mid to late twenties, and who was putting up a good yet futile fight to escape.

He had blonde-bleached hair, a day's worth of stubble on his jaw, a handsome, angular face, an impressive physique, and overall, he would have been considered quite dashing—were it not for the look of utmost terror that twisted his features, in addition to the way he flailed his arms and legs wildly about like a child in the middle of a tantrum.

"Hey—let me go!" he protested in a loud voice. "Come on, I'm an American citizen, for Pete's sake!"

Blackarachnia said not a word, only dragged him up to Megatron, where she dropped him rather carelessly onto the ground. Then she stepped back, while he scrambled to his feet.

"What gives?" the young man demanded, as he brushed himself off. "What in the name of—" His words quickly faltered and died on his lips when he looked ahead, and saw Megatron. His already bulging eyes bulged even wider, were such a thing possible, and his whole face went stark-white. He stood like a statue, unable to move a muscle.

Though he could see little more than Megatron's silhouette, given his position, the two crimson orbs that glowed sinisterly were enough to assure the young man that he was not dealing with just anyone, that this thing—whatever it was—was not something to be messed with.

Slowly, Megatron moved forward, taking deliberate, unhurried steps that resonated deafeningly throughout the chamber.

The man would have run for his life, but his feet were glued to the floor. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't make a sound. He felt as if he were trapped in the middle of a bad horror movie.

Megatron stopped altogether within three paces of his captive, and there, his titanic figure was a little better illuminated. Somehow, he looked worse in the light than he did in the dark.

The young man let out a faint sort of squeak, like a mouse being trodden upon.

For the first five minutes or so, nothing happened. Finally, Megatron ended up being the one to break the ice. "What is your name, young human?"

From the way he said it, it was not a question. It was an order.

The man could not speak. He was so terrified at the moment that he hardly even remembered his own name.

"Speak up, fool!" Starscream barked at him.

The man jumped a mile, unable to hold back a slight scream. In a small, pathetic tone, he responded, "B-Brandon. M-my name i-is B-Brandon, sir. Brandon Muller."

"Brandon Muller," Megatron repeated slowly, almost thoughtfully.

Glancing about apprehensively at his surroundings, Brandon said timorously, "Hey…what is this? Some kind of weirdo, sci-fi convention?"

To himself, he muttered, "I must have had one too many beers at the bar."

As Megatron was not one to idle about, or to engage in mindless talk, he went straight to the heart of the matter. "Brandon Muller," he said, "I have a job for you."

"A job?" This perked Brandon's interest, in spite of himself. "Oh, great! I've been meaning to get a new job lately. I have excellent references—"

Ignoring the young man's babbling, Megatron inquired, "Tell me, Brandon, are you familiar with the All-Spark?"

Brandon stared up at him incredulously. "Say what?"

"Have you heard of the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime?"

Again, Brandon looked nothing short of baffled. "The what-bots, led by who?"

Megatron decided to try another tactic. "Do you know Melly Manchester?"

At last, a look of recognition appeared on Brandon's face. "Oh, her," he said. "Yeah, sure, I know all about her. She used to be my girl." His countenance darkened, and there was an edge of bitterness to his voice as he went on, "I gave her the best four years of my life. I gave her everything. But, apparently, it wasn't good enough for her. I wasn't good enough for her."

"Enough," Megatron cut him off. He was in no mood to hear reminiscences of some bygone romance, and furthermore, this was neither the time nor the place to do so.

At the brusqueness of Megatron's tone, Brandon shut up at once, like a clam about to be dropped in a boiling pot of stew.

"Now, then, Brandon," said the Decepticon lord, "listen closely, for I will only say this once. I need the All-Spark, which is currently in the possession of the Autobots. Your so-called 'girl', who fraternizes with the Autobots on an almost daily basis, ought to have some idea of where the Spark is stashed. You are to follow her around, see if you can find out from her just where they are keeping it. Once you do, you are to steal the Spark, and bring it to me. Is that simple enough, for you? Do you think you can handle such a task?"

Somehow, Brandon found the nerve to demand, "What's in it, for me?"

"Your reward is your life," Megatron answered coolly. "It may not be much, but people with half my generosity would hardly consider such trifles."

Realizing that this big guy wasn't joking in the slightest, Brandon gulped.

"Make sure to never tell Melly, or anyone else for that matter, what you are up to as you are going about your task," Megatron went on. "Understand? Not one word."

"And don't even think about trying to run away," Starscream butted in. "Because we have ways of tracking our victims down."

He leered menacingly at Brandon, who never hesitated to back a few steps.

"Thank you, Starscream," said Megatron, without the least hint of gratitude. "But I'll handle this."

Though Brandon was scared half to death, there was yet a streak of defiance in him. "Hey," he said, securing the attention of all else present, "I'm not a puppet on strings, you know! I'm not some kind of dog, out to fetch something. Why send me to do your dirty work? If you want the crummy All-Star thing, or whatever you call it, so badly, why don't you get it yourself?"

Megatron could have easily obliterated Brandon on the spot for that cheek, but the Decepticon lord decided to take it easy on him, at least this one time.

Besides, the boy had an excellent point, there.

"Our previous attempts to claim the All-Spark have proven futile." Though Megatron spoke quietly, there was no mistaking the cold contempt in his voice, or the blazing fury in his face. "Extreme precautions have been executed, to ensure that the Spark remains out of our reach. It has become greatly problematic, practically impossible, for a Decepticon to lay hands on the Spark." Then, at last, Megatron actually smiled, though the smile didn't suit him at all. It was a smile that boded great ill will, one that made the hairs on the back of Brandon's neck stand on end. "However, you, being smaller and stealthier than any bot could ever be, could slip past their safety measures more easily. I highly doubt they'd suspect a mere mortal like you, anyway."

"So, you expect me to hunt down this Spark doohickey, and then act like Agent Double-O-Seven and break into these guys' hidey-hole to nab it for you?" Even to Brandon, this seemed way out of whack. Shaking his head furiously and holding up his hands in refusal, the young man declared, "Oh-ohh, no! Forget it, man! I sure as heck ain't that stupid! You totally got the wrong guy, dude." While Megatron listened uninterestedly to the tirade, Brandon steamrolled on, "There's no way I'm risking my neck for a bunch of freaks of nature, like you. No sir, not for anything!"

Turning on his heel, he finished with, "You can forget the so-called 'deal'. I'm making like a banana, and splitting—"

But before the young man had taken three steps, his captors quickly intercepted him. In less time than it takes to blink, almost all of them brandished a number of deadly weapons on the spot, including several fusion cannons and a sonic sword, and aimed them directly at Brandon. No one moved after that; they wouldn't attack fully unless Megatron gave the word, but the mere sight of the weapons and how the Decepticons could very well use them were enough to make Brandon sing a different tune.

There was a moment of dead silence in that chamber; you could easily hear a pin drop.

"You were saying?" said Megatron impassively, from where he stood.

Brandon needed no further persuasion.

"On second thought," he said, looking back at the Decepticon lord and offering a pretentious smile, "never mind! Forget what I'd said before; I think your proposal is a swell one."

"Then we have come to an understanding of one another. You will retrieve the Spark for me."

"Sure, piece of cake! I can be very sneaky, when I want to be." Brandon held up his right hand, as if to swear to it.

"Good," said Megatron, and he signaled for his minions to withdraw their weapons.

Just as Brandon was about to take his leave again, Megatron stopped him once more. "Allow me to give you fair warning, boy," said the Decepticon hulk. "Should you fail me—" He did not use words to clarify, but instead showed Brandon what he meant by abruptly seizing hold of Starscream. Starscream gave a slight start of surprise as Megatron grabbed him by his front and lifted him up into the air, with little effort. Megatron then hurled the big robot across the chamber with all his might, straight into a massive pile of machines and equipment.

Starscream uttered a short yet piercing scream as he sailed through the air, then there was a deafening crash that shook the very ground, followed by a brief yet intense flash of light.

All of the other Decepticons recoiled as they watched, even Shockwave.

Brandon shut his eyes and hid his face in the crook of his elbow; then, when the light died down and silence settled, he very slowly dared to look up again. Starscream could not be easily distinguished from the scrambled heap of junk, and Megatron merely dusted off his hands, one against the other, his face never showing the least particle of remorse.

Brandon never said a word as he and Megatron exchanged one final glance, but Megatron knew he got the picture.